Maxwell Hammer's shared items

Friday, November 30, 2007

The Canadian Press: NDP issues Christmas toy asbestos warning: "OTTAWA - The NDP is calling on the federal government to shut down Canada's asbestos industry and scrap 'horrifying' regulations that allow the use of the cancer-causing mineral in children's toys and other products. New Democrat MPs Pat Martin and Libby Davies released test results Friday showing that asbestos is present in CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit - a popular new children's toy made in China. 'Asbestos is the greatest industrial killer the world has ever known and you would have to be insane to put asbestos in children's toys,' said Martin."

Is it just that the Chinese are greedy and profit driven or are they actively trying to poison kids? I don't know what the hell is going on with Canada. Every kid who gets mesothelioma from this will be able to sue, at least.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Actress is now Sarah Michelle Prinze - UPI.com: "NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Hollywood actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has taken the last name of her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. as a fifth wedding anniversary present. 'She officially changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze,' a source close to the actress told Us Weekly. 'On their anniversary, she showed (Freddie) her new driver's license. It was so sweet.'"

You know this means that they'll be divorced soon, don't ya? It's like getting a tattoo of your bf/gf's name. It curses the relationship.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

BBC NEWS | England | West Yorkshire | Terror police 'shot' man in coma: "A man who had gone into a diabetic coma on a bus in Leeds was shot twice with a Taser gun by police who feared he may have been a security threat. Nicholas Gaubert has described how the incident happened in July 2005, just a week before the fatal shooting of Brazilian man Jean Charles de Menezes."

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

local: "A Madison police officer was issued a letter of reprimand this month for zapping the officer's own hand with a Taser, inadvertently sending a massive jolt of electricity through the officer's body, police disclosed today. The incident happened on July 31 when the officer, whose name and gender were not disclosed, discharged the non-lethal weapon during a checkout procedure. According to a summary of the investigation issued by Lt. Kristen Roman of the Professional Standards and Internal Affairs office, officers are required to make sure that no air cartridge is loaded before testing the Taser gun, which is done at the start of each shift."

If they were being fair they would have taken him into custody where he would have somehow beat himself up.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Kanye West's Mother Dies -- A Mystery - TMZ.com: "Kanye West's mother, Dr. Donda West, has died. Multiple reports indicate that Dr. West's death may have been a result of complications from some sort of surgery. Kanye was in London when he was told. He is on his way back to the U.S. West often spoke about the close relationship he shared with his mother. Dr. West worked as the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to become her son's manager."

Ohio.com - AP: "Already this year, 25 million Americans have had background checks by the federal government, a number that's risen every year since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Amid the rise, a notable shift has occurred: More civilians are now checked each year than criminals. And checks on the vast majority come back clean, even as states allot more money for their growing screening operations. And, in rare cases, predators still slip through the cracks. Take Timothy Stephen Keil, an Ohio church camp counselor recently convicted of molesting two young boys. Or Ralph Fiscale, a New Hampshire soccer coach, and Stephen Unger Jr., a Texas schoolteacher, both of whom committed similar offenses in the past year. All were either not run through a check by their superiors, or they passed one. Civil libertarians say the tradeoffs of such a system, built largely through state"

Nick Coleman: After 30 years, Taco Bell didn't even offer her any hot sauce: "Shilson thinks her dismissal was engineered in order to get rid of a veteran worker whose base salary was $45,000. 'I bawled for three days after I got fired,' she says. 'I was the most loyal, dedicated employee they could have. In 30 years, I never called in sick or was late to work. Not once! And I was good at my job. Damn good.'"

Radiohead dispatch their new album In Rainbows, on 10th December. Coincidentally an expensive box set and USB stick of all six of their previous albums is being released on the same day by EMI. Of course, this has nothing to do with Radiohead's decision not to re-sign with EMI at the end of their contract. The label wouldn't be running a spoiler against the band just because they went out on their own, would they?

Just goes to show you that the record companies are actually the big thieves, not the downloaders.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Zapped: Why did police Taser 82-year-old grandma? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Mary Mitchell: "According to a police source, when officers arrived, Fletcher was 'swinging a hammer' and becoming 'increasingly violent.' When Fletcher failed to stop as ordered, an officer discharged a Taser. Also, it's worth noting that Fletcher hasn't been charged with violating any laws. 'The matter is being looked into by the Office of Professional Standards, and the Chicago Police Department will also be reviewing the matter to determine if procedures were followed,' a police spokesman said."

And, of course, they will find that the officers did nothing wrong. They never do. They are perfect little angels that never do anything wrong.

The old woman is lucky they didn't just shoot her in the face, then sprinkle crack on her body and say she pulled a gun.

Are there any standards at all about who can become a cop? Do you just have to have a bad attitude, a crewcut and a steroid connection?

House GOP Rep. punished for remark to woman aide | KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington | News: "OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Minority House Republicans, already reeling from a sex scandal that prompted one member to quit, have severely disciplined a Vancouver lawmaker for inappropriate remarks to a female staffer.Dunn also said he could not exactly recall what he said to the woman, but said he was "sure it was very inappropriate, because I do that kind of thing." He also acknowledged it could have been interpreted as sexual harassment.

"I was a little bit upset about something that had happened a little earlier in the day. I was a little sharp with this young lady, and I shouldn't have been," Dunn said.

Dunn also told The Columbian of Vancouver that he couldn't recall exactly what he said to the woman, but that it was along the lines of "I bought you a drink because I want to take you home," the newspaper reported."

I'm just amazed that it was to a woman who was of legal age. Usually Republicans only do that sort of thing to young boys. He should get an award or something.

Watch with Kristin - Best News Ever! Joss Whedon Spills Exclusive Deets on His New Series: "In your own words, how would you describe Dollhouse? The idea is those with the money or connections can access this secret highly illegal facility where they can basically fulfill their greatest fantasies. Most people assume that means sex—and on an occasion it does, because that is a lot of people's fantasies—but it's basically scenarios. They can basically reenact scenarios of romance, adventure or anything perfectly, because they become the person that you want them to be—they become that person. They don't act like that person, they are not a robot pretending, they become that person, and then they forget all about it. The problem is the character of Echo, Eliza Dushku's character, stops forgetting. She doesn't completely remember, but she does realize she is a person, and that she might have been a person before she did this, and she doesn't know what that is."

He may not know it but there was a whorehouse like that in William S Gibson's Neuromancer.